Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Through a combination of the linguistics of a reconstructed language,
archaeology, and comparative mythology, Deep Ancestors breathes life
into the ancient Proto-Indo-European culture and religion. Ceisiwr
states "This book must be considered a report on a work in progress. As
time goes by, new research will be done, new ideas and data presented,
and old texts and archaeology reinterpreted. This will require changes
in the beliefs and practices of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European
religion. Consider this a process of progressive revelation, except
that instead of coming from the gods it comes from scholars."

I really like the part that talks about how proper ritual supports the
structure and renewal of the Cosmos from a Proto-Indo-European
perspective and a Proto-Indo-European concept called Yewésa (rules by which 'proper' rituals are conducted). This Proto-Indo-European approach to ritual is shared by Jewish tradition as
well which prescribes 613 overall mitzvot (ritual commandments) and a
myriad of halachah (Jewish ritual laws) designed to do just that (support the
structure and renewal of the Cosmos). So, while this book, Deep Ancestors, examines Proto-Indo-European tradition specifically, esoteric knowledge of the workings of the Cosmos must have been known in the ancient world more
widely than it is today. Most mystics today are all about evolving
consciousness and use ritual toward that end or to achieve some practical result, but Proto-Indo-Europeans
and ancient Semitic people both viewed ritual as a set of acts aimed to
carry out our responsibility to the Cosmos.